Biomechanics & Biomaterials

Duke MEMS faculty are exploring a deep and rich array of biological phenomena to unlock discoveries leading to new bio-inspired materials. Building on our discoveries, we are solving analytical and biomechanical problems with clinical relevance.

We work closely with Duke collaborators in biomedical engineering, the natural sciences, Duke Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke University Medical Center in numerous research and educational activities.

Research Areas

Acoustofluidics and microfluidics
Biomaterials and soft matter
Biomechanical engineering
Medical device development
Nanoscience and nanomedicine
Tissue engineering

Major Centers & Initiatives

We foster strong and growing multidisciplinary connections with faculty across Duke University and beyond that include:

Related Study Opportunities

PhD

Specializations include:

Master of Science (MS) or Master of Engineering (MEng)

Concentrations include:

Multi-scale, Advanced, and Bio-Inspired Materials

Further Options at Duke

Duke University Program in Materials Science and Engineering

The program offers a general materials science and engineering (MSE) curriculum and degree title. Learn more »

Highlights

More MEMS research news

Developing Biomaterial Implants to Improve Human Health

Duke materials scientists combine engineering and medicine to treat bone injury, disease, pain and more

Post-Surgical Patch Releases Non-Opioid Painkiller Directly to the Wound

New polymer promises localized pain control for critical first four days

A cartoon depiction of three colored blobs surrounding a DNA strand

Researchers Reveal the Inner Workings of a Viral DNA-Packaging Motor

Trilogy of papers provide insight into a critical step in how some viruses reproduce

Associated Faculty

Wilkins Aquino

Anderson-Rupp Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Computational mechanics, finite element methods, computational inverse problems and their applications in engineering and biomedicine, scientific computing, computational acoustics and acoustics-structure interaction, coupled chemo-mechanics (e.g., electrochemistry-mechanics).

Gaurav Arya

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Molecular modeling, molecular simulations, statistical mechanics, coarse-graining, machine learning, polymer and colloidal physics, polymer-nanoparticle composites, chromatin biophysics, DNA nanotechnology, viral DNA packaging, single-molecule force spectroscopy, nanoscale...

Matthew L Becker

Hugo L. Blomquist Distinguished Professor of Chemistry

Research Interests: Polymer chemistry; bioconjugate chemistry; molecular imaging and additive manufacturing; materials for bone, soft tissue, neural and vascular tissue engineering; drug and protein delivery; degradable materials for flexible electronics

L. Catherine Brinson

Sharon C. and Harold L. Yoh, III Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Study of advanced material systems and developing new methods to characterize and to model material behavior. Her lab’s research objective is to characterize and model advanced materials systems, at scales spanning the range of molecular interactions, micromechanical and...

Chuan-Hua Chen

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

Research Interests: Experimental and theoretical research coupling physicochemical hydrodynamics with interfacial engineering

Ken Gall

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Materials science, mechanical properties, metals and polymers. Specialties: Shape memory materials, biomaterials, 3D printing.

Laurens E. Howle

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Hydroelastic modeling of deformable structures, transport in thermal and chemical systems, experimental and computational fluid dynamics, nonlinear and complex systems, heat and mass transport in biological systems, stability of fluid motions, machine learning, data mining,...

Tony Jun Huang

William Bevan Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Acoustofluidics, microfluidics, lab-on-a-chip, biomedical micro-electro-mechanical systems (BioMEMS), optofluidics, plasmofluidics.

Brian Mann

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Nonlinear dynamics and vibration utilizing analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques. Fundamental investigations of phenomenon and application areas where dynamical systems theory plays an important role.

Piotr E. Marszalek

Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Investigating relationships between structural and mechanical properties of biopolymers (polysaccharides, DNA, proteins), at a single molecule level.

David Needham

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Needham’s research and development is nothing if it is not collaborative. For the past 35 years Needham's Lab has developed and used a platform technology of micropipette manipulation to manipulate single and pairs of micro particles in order to assess their behavior in well-...

Xiaoyue Ni

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Flexible electronics, precision measurement, non-destructive testing, deformation physics of random media, mechanical metamaterials, robotic materials and smart structures, machine learning

Christine K. Payne

Yoh Family Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Molecular mechanisms by which cells interact with materials, specifically nanoparticles and conducting polymers, with applications in nanomedicine and environmental exposure

Michael Rubinstein

Aleksandar S. Vesic Distinguished Professor

Research Interests: Polymer theory and computer simulations

Shyni Varghese

Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Orthopaedics

Research Interests: Musculoskeletal tissue repair, disease biophysics and organ-on-a-chip technology

Jennifer L West

Fitzpatrick Family University Distinguished Professor of Engineering

Research Interests: Biomaterials, nanotechnology and tissue engineering that involves the synthesis, development, and application of novel biofunctional materials, and the use of biomaterials and engineering approaches to study biological problems.

Benjamin Yellen

Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Development of single cell analysis tools using magnetic circuits, and multiparticle assembly of colloidal crystals

Stefan Zauscher

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Nano-mechanical and nano-tribological characterization (elasticity, friction, adhesion) of materials including organic thin films; self-assembled monolayers, polymeric gels, and cellulosics; Fabrication of polymeric nanostructures by scanning probe lithography; Colloidal probe...

Pei Zhong

Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Research Interests: Ultrasound-targeted gene delivery and activation; Synergistic combination of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and immunotherapy for cancer treatment; Innovations in shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) technology; and Mechanics and bioeffects of acoustic cavitation.

Daniel Buckland

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Research Interests: Medical device development, acute care technology, space medicine, remote medicine, autonomous medical devices.

Ashutosh Chilkoti

Alan L. Kaganov Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Research Interests: Focused on biomolecular materials and biointerface science and emphasizes the development of applications that span the range from bioseparations, biosensors, biomaterials, and targeted drug delivery.

Patrick James Codd

Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery

Research Interests: Minimally invasive neurosurgical device development and neurosurgical robotics.

Louis Edwin DeFrate

Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery

Dennis Onyeka Frank-Ito

Associate Professor in Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences

Research Interests: Modeling the effects of human airway anatomy on respiratory airflow patterns, deposition of inhaled gases and particle transport using computational fluid dynamics.

Shivanand Lad

Professor of Neurosurgery

Research Interests: Neurotrophin biology, neuroregeneration, medical device design

Roberto Jose Manson

Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery

Rendon C. Nelson

Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology, in the School of Medicine

Research Interests: Diagnostic imaging of the liver, detection and characterization of focal and diffuse processes by US, CT and MRI; percutaneous image-guided thermal ablation of hepatic and renal tumors.

Amanda Randles

Alfred Winborne and Victoria Stover Mordecai Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences

Research Interests: Biomedical simulation and high-performance computing

Benjamin J. Wiley

Professor of Chemistry

Research Interests: In the Wiley Group, we make new nanomaterials by controlling the assembly of atoms in solution, and explore applications for nanomaterials in medicine, catalysis, plasmonics, and electronics. Our goal is to precisely control the size, shape, and composition of materials on the...